Seven years ago, Forbes.com posted an article about how impactful YouTube was becoming.
“It’s a medium we’ve never seen before, in terms of quality, how it extracts response from its audience, and the power that the individual creator wields,” Brent Weinstein told Forbes.
In the year prior to that article, about 60 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every second.
In 2013, 72 hours of online video were uploaded to YouTube every minute.
“It makes YouTube a media powerhouse,” the Forbes article said.
And what a powerhouse it has become.
Fast-forward seven years, and the statistics are even more mind-blowing: Oberlo.com says that 500 hours of video are now uploaded to YouTube every minute in 2020. About 1 billion – yes BILLION – hours of video are consumed on YouTube every day.
YouTube is now considered to be the No. 2 search engine in the world behind Google (who actually owns YouTube).
Success of Video for Businesses
Video dominates internet traffic. It’s easy to watch a video, comment and share across multiple social networks. And access to YouTube is everywhere not only on your desktop and phone apps, but on smart TVs as well.
YouTube is the most widely used platform by 85% of video marketers, beating out Facebook by 6%, according to HubSpot.
New research from Wyzowl also shows that 87% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their websites. Around that same percentage also say YouTube has been successful for them in generating sales leads.
Video marketers also say that platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok bring only a fraction of that success.
How Video Influences Consumers
YouTube isn’t just a place to draw engagement – it’s also a prime place for you to grow awareness and trust for your brand.
Research shows that 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. Then 84% of people say a video convinced them to purchase a product.
While YouTube “stars” make the headlines, you don’t need a fancy, funny, trendy video. Consumers are craving more content from brands.
Research says that 86% of people want to see more videos from brands, with 36% of those wanting more educational-type content.
How to Get Started on YouTube
Now that you know that your consumers want more video content, it’s time to get your YouTube channel started.
Watch this video on … yes, YouTube, on how to get started:
When you log in, make sure you’re using a Google account that is also tied to other Google products such as your Google Analytics and Google My Business. If you’re using multiple accounts for these products, you’re causing a lot of confusion for yourself and, potentially, your employees who manage those products.
Once you’ve set up your YouTube channel, it’s time to start uploading your videos and getting subscribers. If you want a branded URL, you must have 100 subscribers first.
You also want to spend a few minutes to make sure your channel includes links to your website and other social platforms. Your contact information should be accurate in the “About” section as well.
Having all these pieces in place before you start promoting your videos could be the difference in landing a new customer and getting ignored.
Creating Videos for YouTube
As we mentioned, consumers are craving educational content. Explainer and how-to videos are a great place to start.
We’ve also included several tips for you HERE.
And check out this video to see even more of why video is so important for your company:
Once you’ve uploaded your videos, you need to optimize them so they can be easily found through search engines and on YouTube searches. This includes titles and descriptions with keywords that people are using.
A good test to do this is to search for videos of the subject that you’re posting. Explore what others are using first to get an idea for the best keywords to use.
You can also embed your videos onto your website and blogs to create a better user experience. The videos will play within your site, keeping users on your website without sending them to YouTube to watch.
YouTube videos will also play automatically on some social media sites, such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
Do you need help getting your YouTube channel started? Contact us at The Social Ginger today so we can partner with you to enhance your online presence.
